Baby walkers - not safe enough for use

Here's Benedict placed in a baby-walker inherited from Clarissa and Christa. Is it safe? It is probably not as safe as you would think unless it is used under very close supervision. Would you trust your infant to 'run' around in the walker? Could you prevent him from zooming into the car-porch, falling off the stairs or hitting other potentially dangerous objects?

A 3-year, 8-month period study looking at walker-related injury occurring in 65 infants <1 year of age treated at Emergency Department in Charlottesville and in Albemarle County showed these findings:-

Mechanisms associated with walker-related injuries included:
1. stairway falls in 46 infants (71%),
2. tip-overs in 14 infants (21%),
3. falls from a porch in 2 infants (3%), and
4. burns in 3 infants (5%).

These injuries predominantly involved the head and neck region (97%), with few injuries to the extremities (6%) and trunk (3%). Although the majority of injuries were minor, significant injuries occurred in 19 infants (29%). These injuries included skull fracture, concussion, intracranial hemorrhage, full-thickness burns, c-spine fracture, and death. After excluding the burned patients, all the serious injuries resulted from falls down stairs. The annual incidence of injuries occurring in infants <1 year of age, related to the use of walkers, and resulting in an emergency department visit was 8.9/1000, and for serious injuries was 1.7/1000.

It was concluded that the incidence and significance of infant walker-related injuries in infants are unacceptably high. (see reference)

I don't think our elderly baby-sitters could run as fast as Benedict when he is on the baby-walker. So, Benedict, you days on the walker are numbered! Let's play with something safer!

Here's the position statement of the American Acedemy of Paediatricians:-
Injuries Associated with Infant Walkers
Baby Walker: Q & A